The laser welder arrived late August and was set up by Neil from M2 lasers. http://www.m2lasers.com.au/
Interestingly it requires skills similar to the traditional goldsmiths (mouth operated) blowtorch. That is, good preparation of the work – accurately fitting parts - and a steady hand. I guess trade jewelers will be looking for a tool that will let them re-tip ring settings without removing the stone; fabricate complicated mounts in gold and repair porosity in castings. They wont be disappointed. However it’s not going to be a magic bullet for studio jewelers looking for solutions for the problems associated with traditional sterling sliver, for example firescale and annealing (softening) caused by soldering (braising), and for jewelers working with aluminum. The laser does however work very well on Stainless Steel, Titanium, Gold and Monel. I can also report that my test pieces in Titanium anodized with no difference in the color of the material at the weld. It will be interesting to see if this is also the case with Aluminum.
Traditional sterling silver tends to reflect the laser in the same way that it wont burn a hole through your finger if you accidently zap yourself. Neil’s tip, blackening the metal with a felt permanent marker helps. As traditional sterling silver is a very good conductor of heat it tends to absorb the heat that does make it on to the join. Just how difficult it is to laser weld is reflected in the fact that the supplied filler rod is easy solder, in contrast to the filler rods for other metals that are the pure metal. I was able to weld sterling silver brooch findings onto a stainless brooch, and use stainless filler too. The findings welded on ok but it was difficult to get a neat result. Using the laser still has potential application for tacking parts together prior to soldering that might otherwise require binding wire or multiple soldering to get complicated parts together.
You might have noticed that I have referred to Silver as ‘traditional sterling silver’. This is because alloys of silver using the addition of germanium such as Argentium Sterling Silver look promising for laser welding. For more on Argentium see http://www.argentiumsilver.com/ and http://www.cynthiaeid.com/
The laser welder is an innovative tool that encourages an innovative approach if you want a creative result. When I get hold of some Argentium I will report back.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Firescoff
My studio pals came back from the JAA Fair with samples of Firescoff which promises to be a good alternative to flux for soldering and Prips flux for controlling firescale / firestain on silver.
From the manufacturers website.
Firescoff™ is a revolutionary heat activated ceramic spray coating. Firescoff™ combines a scale preventer, a high performance non-fluorinated flux (for both hard and soft solder) and the convenience of easy removal in warm water, all-in-one.
http://www.nventa.com/firescoff.php
From the manufacturers website.
Firescoff™ is a revolutionary heat activated ceramic spray coating. Firescoff™ combines a scale preventer, a high performance non-fluorinated flux (for both hard and soft solder) and the convenience of easy removal in warm water, all-in-one.
http://www.nventa.com/firescoff.php
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Enter the ‘Hartmetall-Spiralbohrer’.
I am using some Carbide Twist-drills (Busch 203HM) to see if they work better than ‘ordinary’ twist-drills for use with stainless steel. These drills are made by the German manufacturer Busch who probably supply the majority of jewelers with tool steel twist-drills and burs. http://www.busch.eu
The Carbide Twist-drill are designed for use with hard metals such as 18 ct white gold and what Busch call ‘jewelry steel’ which I assume is stainless steel. Busch also make a high speed steel twist drill which can be recognized by the black shank but the carbide version promises to outlast both tool steel and high-speed steel versions. These twist-drills are distinctive as they have four grooves in the fluting of the drill that Busch say makes chip removal easier and reduces breakage.
Recommended drilling speed
Free-hand 5,000 – 9,000 r.p.m.
Drill press 8,000 – 14,000 r.p.m.
Busch also suggest to,
Center punch where you want to drill.
Use a coolant to increase the lifespan of the twist-drill.
Busch 203HM Carbide Twist-drills come in 0.1 mm size increments from 0.70 mm to 1.60 mm.
Final note: these twist-drills are a good deal more expensive than tool steel twist-drills. I bought mine for $15 au EACH plus GST. However I have been going through the tool steel twist-drills like they were ‘going out of fashion’ so if the carbide ones live up to their promise to last longer they may be more economical for working with stainless and white gold. You could of course turn up the juice on the laser welder and burn the holes in to your job but it is nice to be able to drill them at the bench.
So how good are they? Well its not a magic bullet for stainless but I suspect stainless is a problem anyway. They do perform better than a standard twist drill, cutting more positively and less problems with pushing up a burr on the back of the piece being drilled. This can be a big problem with thin material especially if you need some pressure to get the drill to cut as you might with a standard twist drill. I got best results using the drill press and I did break one drilling ‘free-hand’ i.e. with a hand-piece/flex drive. Yes, you will cry when you break one after only drilling a couple of holes (see the previous paragraph) however, with care and following the recommendations I think they are a step up for working with stainless steel. I suspect that they will be brilliant in precious metals like 18 ct white. They do need care drilling freehand as they are more brittle.
The Carbide Twist-drill are designed for use with hard metals such as 18 ct white gold and what Busch call ‘jewelry steel’ which I assume is stainless steel. Busch also make a high speed steel twist drill which can be recognized by the black shank but the carbide version promises to outlast both tool steel and high-speed steel versions. These twist-drills are distinctive as they have four grooves in the fluting of the drill that Busch say makes chip removal easier and reduces breakage.
Recommended drilling speed
Free-hand 5,000 – 9,000 r.p.m.
Drill press 8,000 – 14,000 r.p.m.
Busch also suggest to,
Center punch where you want to drill.
Use a coolant to increase the lifespan of the twist-drill.
Busch 203HM Carbide Twist-drills come in 0.1 mm size increments from 0.70 mm to 1.60 mm.
Final note: these twist-drills are a good deal more expensive than tool steel twist-drills. I bought mine for $15 au EACH plus GST. However I have been going through the tool steel twist-drills like they were ‘going out of fashion’ so if the carbide ones live up to their promise to last longer they may be more economical for working with stainless and white gold. You could of course turn up the juice on the laser welder and burn the holes in to your job but it is nice to be able to drill them at the bench.
So how good are they? Well its not a magic bullet for stainless but I suspect stainless is a problem anyway. They do perform better than a standard twist drill, cutting more positively and less problems with pushing up a burr on the back of the piece being drilled. This can be a big problem with thin material especially if you need some pressure to get the drill to cut as you might with a standard twist drill. I got best results using the drill press and I did break one drilling ‘free-hand’ i.e. with a hand-piece/flex drive. Yes, you will cry when you break one after only drilling a couple of holes (see the previous paragraph) however, with care and following the recommendations I think they are a step up for working with stainless steel. I suspect that they will be brilliant in precious metals like 18 ct white. They do need care drilling freehand as they are more brittle.
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